


Staying

by blueshadowmutt



Series: Passing [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: and jugo and kimimaro, look at kakashi trying to be a dad, prequel to passing by, story is not discontinued but im taking a break for my mental health mostly bye
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-02-23 07:15:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23007745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueshadowmutt/pseuds/blueshadowmutt
Series: Passing [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1664314
Comments: 18
Kudos: 59





	Staying

It’s not like Kakashi ever expected to take care of a soon-to-be seven-year-old kid. But it’s not like there was an option to say no. His mom was dead, and his brother was missing. If he hadn’t accepted Sasuke, by now, he would be missing, too. Probably dead. Just like Obito. The first time he’d seen Sasuke, Obito showed him a picture of his little cousins, calling them cute “brats”, but Sasuke didn’t look anything like that kid anymore. It was mostly the hair, Kakashi decided--it made sense, every single Uchiha he’d ever met seemed to have jet-black hair, but Sasuke’s hair was now a light brown, to match his own. Funny, how hair color made such a difference. 

Taking Sasuke meant leaving behind everything else, it wouldn’t have made sense to show up to old friends and aquaintances with his six-year-old son. Son. That was a funny word. It meant that he would have been a sixteen-year-old dad. It didn’t matter. The only person to whom he was really saying goodbye was Rin, but she would understand--if she knew the reason. It didn’t matter now. He’d moved states and fell off the planet, burned her phone number and last name off his memory. 

He glanced up from his reading--a rather interesting article about the zone of proximal development as the target for teaching, the way teachers should attempt to make all material not too difficult, but not too easy--when there was a soft knock on his door.

“Come in,” he said, just as softly. 

The door opened. It was Sasuke. Of course. His eyes still looked dry from the contact lense attempt, but it would pass. Everything passed, eventually. His green dinasour was clutched to his chest, the only reminder of his previous life along with that violin that the kid seemed to hate, as his other hand held a plate with two sandwiches, their crusts missing. 

“Dinner?” Sasuke’s eyes were wide, as he tiptoed closer to the bed.

Kakashi glanced at his watch, patting the space next to him. It wasn’t dinner time, but over the weeks, Sasuke had made a habit of bringing him some food at four in the afternoon, on the dot. Kakashi tried to stop it at first, but the day he did, at four o’clock sharp, Sasuke started crying his eyes out. Not for the first time making him wish he’d studied child psychology or development, instead of chemistry. It took some effort for Sasuke to climb on the bed, but Kakashi had learned how aversive the kid was to physical touch, and he didn’t want to induce another anxiety attack. Sasuke set the plate between them, an inconspicious barrier.

“Thanks, kiddo,” he said, picking up one of the sandwiches. From the corner of his eye, he saw Sasuke doing the same, but knew from experience that he wouldn’t eat unless he took the first bite. Another one of his...habits. He took a large bite, humming as happily as he could. Peanut butter and jelly, but it tasted like Sasuke had mixed them in the same slice of bread, instead of separating them. “Tastes good.”

Sasuke took a bite, one considerably smaller, “thank you.”

No matter how much Kakashi tried to get the kid to relax, he couldn’t manage it and was beginning to write that off as just an Uchiha thing--Fugaku’s back was always rigid, and so had...most of the relatives he’d ever met. It wasn’t a big enough tell-tale sign of Sasuke’s real parentage, though, so it could go on the bottom of the list of things that Kakashi needed to do. Right below getting the kid used to calling him ‘dad’, getting used to being called ‘dad’, and rehearsing their family history. Druggie teenage mom. At least, he’d been in foster care since he was six, so he didn’t have to worry about grandparents. The maternal grandparents, he’d decided, were also unknown, just to fall in on the story of a foster, drugged teenage mom. 

As a former foster youth, he couldn’t stomach the story himself. But he knew it would be tragic enough for people not to ask too many questions, tragic enough to explain Sasuke’s tearful eyes everytime someone asked about his mommy. 

“Did...you color anything today?” He asked, once the sandwich was done.

Sasuke chewed and swallow first, just like a child who’d been taught manners since the womb. “No, sir--” 

Kakashi closed his eyes, correcting as gently as he could, “dad.”

“Dad,” Sasuke repeated dutifully. “I didn’t...draw anything today. Dad.”

It’s not like Kakashi  _ wanted _ to be called dad. Sasuke had a dad already, although that was ‘father’. But he couldn’t go around calling him ‘sir’, although some kids did do that, but Kakashi had always gotten the impression that kids who did that got beaten at home, and Sasuke might be his fake-adopted son, but he wasn’t going to do that, ever, so, the ‘sir’ had to go. Preferably sooner rather than later.

“What did you do?”

Sasuke chewed and swallowed. He ate so slowly. Taking tiny bites. “Did reading. I’m...slow.”

Sometimes, Sasuke would refuse to talk. Other times, Kakashi was so woefully unprepared for what he said that...not talking would save some of the awkwardness. He, himself, always seemed to be ahead of the curve--a fortunate talent that spared him many heartbreaks from growing up in unstable environments. But he couldn’t remember ever thinking, at six, that he was a slow reader. 

“What were you reading?” He asked, trying to figure out which children book he had. Nothing. He barely had adult books, only textbooks.

“Dictionary.” Sasuke finished the sandwich, both hands clutching his dinasaur now. Kakashi shouldn’t have been surprised. “I learned new words. Gu...gu,” he closed his eyes, biting his lower lip. “Guber--gu--guberna..na--natorial.” His eyes opened, a deep line of concentration cutting through his forehead, “Guberna--torial, gubernatorial, relating to a governor. And,” he closed his eyes again, “and...pra--prag--ma--tic. Pragmatic, a lot practical.”

“You’re very smart, Sasuke,” Kakashi said. “Soon, you’ll know more words than me.”

Sasuke’s cheeks turned red, the color contrasting sharply with his pale skin. He picked up the article, looking at it. “No. I can’t read this,” he squinted his eyes. “What’s...zone of pro--pro,” he closed his mouth, squinting even more. 

Two minutes passed, but Kakashi didn’t mind, couldn’t stop looking at him. He looked like he could squint the words in front of him into showing him their meaning. 

“Proximal...deve--lop--development. Zone of...proximal development.”

Kakashi smiled, more relaxed now, “it’s when kids are smart enough to figure things out, but they just need a couple of hints.”

“Oh.” Sasuke stared at the paper a few seconds more, before setting it down on the bed, like it was a precious, priceless painting. He clutched his dinasour to his chest, again, like he usually did whenever he could “Ka--dad,” he shook his head, “do I have a...” he took a deep breath, “zone of proximal development?”

“Sure you do. Everyone has one.”

“Is it stupid?”

“No,” Kakashi picked up the article. “You want to learn more about it?” Once Sasuke nodded, Kakashi began reading aloud, slower than normal. Sasuke stopped him every couple of sentences, asking with a polite ‘please’ to repeat some words and to tell him their definition. It was okay. Teaching...is what he was supposed to do for the rest of his adult life, and even if he might prefer teaching teenagers, helping an eager and polite--and sad--kid was not the end of the world. 

Three-quarters of the page down, Sasuke couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore. For the better, he hardly slept at night, too...the--the memories too much for dreams to be anything other than vicious nightmares. It wasn’t the end of the world now, because it was winter break and he could take naps, but once school started again, he wouldn’t be able to do that anymore. He ran his fingers through his hair, school would present another challenge. Up till now, Sasuke had gone to a fancy private school, but he didn’t even have a full-time job, he was barely scraping by with his part-time jobs, and there was just no way that he would be able to send Sasuke anywhere other than free, public school. And asking for money was unacceptable. 

With a sigh, he finished anotating the article, and pulled his laptop closer to him. He’d been saving for a new one, but he had...more pressing financial responsabilities now. They left the Uchiha house with Sasuke’s violin and dinasour, and the pajamas the kid was wearing, and a new birth certificate. There hadn’t been time for anything else. Nor did it make sense to take along more of Sasuke’s old life, the life he was never going to get back. His savings had evaporated on the deposit for an apartment, the month’s first and second rent, and clothes for Sasuke, second-handed and cheap. He’d been a little surprised that Sasuke had only said  _ thank you _ , somewhat lessening the blow that any financial security was gone. He appreciated it. It was fine. The kid didn’t seem to be much of a brat, and that...that, he was eternally grateful for because of course, he would have still taken him, but the weeks would have been more miserable if he had to put up with a bratty, rich kid. Of course--of course, there was always the possibility that Sasuke was too traumatized to say anything other than  _ thank you _ and  _ please _ . 

“Dad?”

Kakashi blinked. His voice was so soft. “Yeah?”

“Is...my big brother okay?”

He bit back a sigh. How was he supposed to look at him and tell him that his big brother was dead? He couldn’t even look at himself in the mirror and tell himself that Obito was dead. “Wherever Itachi is, he is going to keep you safe for the rest of your life, Sasuke.”

“He’s dead. Everyone is.”

That--he needed to find some resources on grief services. To learn. To learn how to help Sasuke through his grief that he couldn’t even let out because someone could kidnap him. “That...just means that you have a lot of guardian angels looking out for you, kid.”

“Are angels real?”

No. No. They were not. But Kakashi couldn’t say that. Not to Sasuke. “Yes. We talked about it, remember? As long as there are stars in the sky, there are angels--” 

“And the sky got a lot of angels,” Sasuke finished. 

Something twisted in his stomach. Maybe if Sasuke was a little older, he wouldn’t have been saying things like that--he hardly believed in heaven or hell, angels, demons, it all seemed incredibly implausible to him, but if there was anything, he’d be hard pressed to believe that it would be guardian angels. But he could lie for a six-year-old. There was nothing wrong with that. “It did. And they’re all there for you.”

“I wish the sky would give them back,” Sasuke muttered, tears pooling in his eyes. 

Kakashi shifted to lay down, staring at the ceiling, giving the kid some privacy--he’d found early on that Sasuke hated crying, even if he couldn’t stop, but he hated crying while someone watched more. “Me too, kid.”

There was a sniffle. It should have been a sob, but Sasuke, Kakashi found, had something about crying quietly. “Dad? How did you know them?”

Obito’s face popped up. Those ridiculous goggles he seemed to carry around everywhere, even if he wasn’t going to the pool at all, even in the middle of the winter. Claiming they helped him look better. Around his neck. “Mmm...your--Mr. Uchiha interviewed me.” He should have said the truth. But he couldn’t. He--he was grieving too, he realized, the chest tightening, too, when he thought about Obito, when his mind would read a funny joke in his voice, like he was the one speaking it. “I’m good at my job, I promise.”

“I can tell.” His voice sounded like a  _ child _ , but his ability to stop it from cracking could make any emotionally constipated adult jealous. “Because...because...you’re...old. Sorry.”

A chuckle escaped. It sounded foreign in the apartment. “I’m not  _ that _ old.”

To his utter surprise, another...a giggle ruptured the tension in the room. But not from him. From Sasuke. 

\----------------------------------------------------------

“What’s your name?”

They were sitting on the floor, an empty pizza box between them. School was starting back in two days, and Kakashi needed to make sure the kid knew what he was meant to say.

Sasuke clutched his dinasour, pulling his knees up to his chest. “My name is Sasuke Hatake.”

“Good,” Kakashi said. “Who am I?”

“Kakashi Hatake, you are my dad. I’m your son.”

They had been practicing the entire day, the responses slowly growing more natural. “Good. You’re smart, Sasuke.” He took a deep breath, “do you have any siblings?”

“No, dad,” he said. “I’m an only child.”

Kakashi nodded. “Where did we move from?”

“From Denver, Colorado. It snows there in winter too, and my favorite season is winter. Because there’s snow.”

“What does your dad do?”

“Dad’s working to be a chemistry teacher.”

Kakashi nodded, closing his eyes. “Where is your mom?”

Sasuke’s tiny hands were holding the dinasour like his life depended on it. “My mom’s sick with bad drugs. She lives in the streets and doesn’t want me.”

Somehow, Kakashi didn’t move away. It probably had something to do with Sasuke not moving away either. It had taken all of break to get him to say those words without bursting into tears. “Good. I’m proud of you, Sasuke.” He couldn’t believe his life had come to congratulating a kid about the horrible whereabouts of his fake mom, but it was something that had to be done.

“Thank you, dad.”

The smile stopped the sigh from slipping through, and then, he began the questioning again. Just one more time. Another time. 

Until it was six o’clock and Kakashi needed to go to work. It had been difficult to decide what to do with Sasuke. It wasn’t like he could take him to the bar and sit him there while his shift ended. He had considered leaving him by himself at home, but no matter how responsible the kid really was, that was just a dangerous thing to do. But Mrs. Tanaka was a sweet grandma on the other side of the hallway, and she’d always had a large family, and was now alone, and Kakashi could make friends and for one hundred dollars, Mrs. Tanaka slept while Sasuke stayed up until he came back. 

Kakashi had another job lined up, a waiter job and an after-school program, but until school started, he was still bartending. It was good money, and he needed the money. He waited for Sasuke to grab his dinasour and coloring book, before ushering him out the door. 

He knocked on Mrs. Tanaka’s door, the door opening halfway, the chain lock still in place. “Good evening, Mrs. Tanaka. I’m just dropping Sasuke off.”

The door closed and then opened again, this time fully. She was wearing her large, square glasses and a red shawl over a loose dress. Kakashi never had much interaction with grandmas, but Mrs. Tanaka was the image of one he always had in his mind. “Well, hello, Sasuke. How are you?”

Sasuke smiled, “good, thank you, Mrs. Tanaka. How are you?”

“Good, thank you, sweetie. Come on in. I’m making cookies, do you want to help me?”

Sasuke nodded, “thank you, Mrs. Tanaka.”

“You’re welcome, Sasuke!” Mrs. Tanaka said, in that way that grandmas in movies always did. Sasuke walked inside, setting his coloring book near the door, but keeping the dinasour in one hand, holding it by its tail. “He’s such a sweet boy.”

Kakashi nodded, keeping a polite smile on his face. “He sure is. Thank you again, Mrs. Tanaka. I’ll be back in the morning.”

“Oh, of course. He is such good company for an old lady like me.”

The smile stayed as he poked his head inside the apartment and waved bye to Sasuke, who returned it quickly and eagerly. Just like they practiced. He only allowed himself to sigh once he was in the elevator. Sometimes, in foster care, kids were taught to say somethings to get parents to like them, and hopefully adopt them. Kakashi had never learned to say those words, but it seemed like he picked up on something. It was necessary, no matter how uncomfortable it was.

He picked up Sasuke the next day, at seven in the morning, recognizing the sleepy look in his eyes, accepting the patch of cookies that they made together, and thanking Mrs. Tanaka again, handing over the payment. Considering the amount of tips that he tended to bring from work because at least he was blessed with good looks, even if he would rather not make pleasant conversation with any stranger, it wasn’t much and even if it was, it was important. It gave him peace of mind, to know that Sasuke was at least in an apartment with another adult, regardless of how old Mrs. Tanaka was. 

“Are you sleepy?”

Sasuke shook his head. “I could sleep today. A little. Dino was with me.”

Dino was always with him. But sometimes,  _ most _ times, that didn’t matter. “I’m happy to hear that, Sasuke.”

“Yes, dad.” Sasuke let go of his hand once they were inside the apartment. “Are you sleepy?”

Kakashi shook his head. He was exhausted, but he needed to make breakfast and needed to rehearse again with Sasuke and then they had to head to his new school, for their welcome back lunch, to meet his teacher and find his classroom, to sign him up for the free lunch program. He needed to find his tax returns from last year. 

Fuck. Where had he put them? Maybe they were still stashed away in a box, shoved in the back of his closet. 

“Dad?”

“No,” he said. “I had coffee at work.”

Sasuke was staring up at him with wide eyes. “Coffee is not good.”

“I’ve heard,” Kakashi said. “But it taste good. Adults can drink it, but little kids can’t, right?” Sasuke nodded. It was truly a blessing, to get such an agreeable child. Sweet and polite, and thoughtful, and smart. Kakashi doubted that a biological child could be that great. “Why don’t you go wash your hands for breakfast?”

“I can help make breakfast, dad.”

Fugaku must be missing him. “Sure. If you want,” he said, smiling softly. 

What was he supposed to say? No. He’d rather Sasuke not make anything, but he cried whenever he tried to say no, and Kakashi was sad whenever he made him cry, so he had to say yes, even if the thought that a practical toddler was making him food, at four o’clock in the afternoon, and now, apparently half of breakfast, too, twisted his stomach uncomfortably.

But it only consisted of cereal and grapes. Sasuke poured the milk in their bowls and placed them in the microwave, saying that if the cereal was put in the microwave too, it would get soggy. He wasn’t wrong, but Kakashi didn’t mind. Sasuke seemed to, and everything could be going a lot worse, everything considered, so Kakashi was officially a member of the hate-soggy-cereal club.

Kakashi washed the dishes and headed to his bedroom, his closet more specifically. Looking at it was giving him a headache--he never owned a lot of things, but now must of the things he owned were in cardboard boxes, stacked on top of each other, because he hadn’t had energy or time or will to unpack them. Now, he had to, before they had to rush to the school. Kakashi wasn’t looking forward to that for many reasons, but mostly because he would have to fill out forms, but before that, he would have to take Sasuke in the bus. His car was almost out of gas, and he had to save some for work later tonight, and the bus was cheaper. Dirtier, and scarier, and somewhat more dangerous, but cheaper. 

“Can I help?”

“Sure,” Kakashi said, grabbing the box on the top and setting it on the floor, next to Sasuke. He grabbed another one. “We’re looking for blue folders, okay?”

It would have been a lot easier to falsify the information, of course, but Kakashi would prefer doing the least amount of illegal things, at least until he could get his bearings. 

Soon. 

Maybe. Hopefully. Hopefully not.

He really needed to sleep. 

Sasuke was careful with everything, like he was too scared that he would break something. There was nothing much to break. Some summer clothes. Kakashi ensured that he was the one handling the china, the one from his mother, apparently, that his dad liked so much. Hilarious. Anyway. Sasuke wouldn’t have broken it, but Kakashi felt somewhat better not letting him touch it either. It was probably selfish. But it couldn’t be--Sasuke would be horrified if he broke anything, and the plates were delicate. 

“Is this it?”

Kakashi looked up from a cup with golden bells painted onto the side. Sasuke was holding a blue folder--the blue folder. “Yes. Perfect. Thank you, kid.”

Sasuke smiled like he had just won the lottery. Which would be nice because Kakashi was a bit tight on the money front, but it was fine. There was only a mouth to feed, Sasuke’s specifically, he could go a little without food for a few days if that happened. It was just until he could start on two jobs. Three, because he was staying at the bar, on some nights. For tip money, mostly. 

He had to work to save money for a lot of things, but also to...for the basic necessesities that he’d always been aware of, of course, but had never felt too much pressure about because he had never really had to worry about a six-year-old depending on his reliability.

If Kakashi allowed himself to think about it  _ too _ much, he would work himself into a panic, like he had two nights ago, back from work. He’d never been reliable, and it seemed like Karma was after him, now, because he had to be because a small, sunshine, sad boy was depending on him now. 

It was fine. It was fine. It was. 

“What are they?”

“Taxes.”

“Adult sadness?”

“Pretty much.” He glanced at them, at last breathing somewhat easier because it was quite clear that Sasuke did need free lunch. “But thanks for finding them.”

Sasuke gave him a small smile. “Of course!”

Kakashi glanced at the clock. The bus ride did take a while. He needed another cup of coffee. Take a shower. Look presentable--of course, he was aware that teachers were mandatory responders, of course, and he absolutely believed in that because they spent so much time with children and teenagers that they should notice signs of trouble. 

It was just somewhat stressful to think that they would be looking at Sasuke and wondering if there  _ was _ any trouble. More rehearsal. 

“Sasuke? What’s your name?”

He glanced at him, his hands reaching for his green dinasour. “Sasuke Hatake. My dad is working to be a chemistry teacher, my mom is sick with drugs and doesn’t want me. We moved from Denver, Colorado, it snows there in winter. Grandparents are dead. My favorite animal is the dinasour. All of them because they’re like real dragons. Dad works at night, but I stay with our neighbor, Mrs. Tanaka. She likes to watch black and white movies, and she likes to make cookies. She cooks great food, specially steamed vegetables. Dad says vegetables are really important, so I eat them all, even though I only like brocoli and tomatoes because they’re green and red. I don’t have any siblings because I’m an only child, but I know dad likes dogs, so maybe we’ll get a dog sometime.”

“Have you been practicing?”

Sasuke nodded. “I know you’re tired. My father would sometimes get cranky when he was really tired and stressed. Money makes people stressed, and if I’m a bad liar, you can get stressed too. Mrs. Tanaka sleeps and snores a little, and I practice in my head.”

“Just in your head?”

“Yeah. I’m not dumb. I know bad things will happen if someone knows me and father will be stressed.” He looked down at his dinasour. A ghost frown on his face, before fading away into nothingness. “I know being a liar is not good, but I’ll try to be the best one. It’ll be okay.”

“It will be, Sasuke. Come on,” he stood up. “You need to take a shower, and so do I, to go see your new school. Are you nervous?”

He shook his head. “No.”

Still not the best liar. Kakashi walked him to the bathroom, handing him a towel, before closing the door and heading to the kitchen to make more coffee. 

The coffee consumption was just like in college. And high school. Absolutely fine. 

It was the lunch rush when Kakashi got the call. Actually, the restaurant got the call, and the hostess, a student in the nearby college, answered it with  _ the _ cheery, fake tone that anyone in customer service developed for the sake of the  _ customer is always right _ mentality that honestly, was truly bullshit, but they all got paid at the end of the day so it was...almost bearable. She came up to him, after, and told him that his son’s school had tried to call his cell phone first, but had been forced to call his work after dragging the number out of Sasuke. 

It was an emergency.

Kakashi should have seen it coming. Just like it was his first day at  _ Happy Diners _ , it was Sasuke’s first day at a new school, halfway through the year, when all the other students already knew each other. Kakashi couldn’t remember his first day of first grade, except that he’d been utterly annoyed, that some kids couldn’t even add.

He couldn’t exactly leave because it would look terrible, but--but if he didn’t leave, Sasuke might think that he abandoned him, and then he might not trust him anymore. That had to be worth more than not getting fired. 

But his shift got covered, by a single mom, who apparently  _ understood _ . Kakashi wasn’t comparing himself to her because she obviously understood more than she did, but he appreciated it, and made it a note to cover one of her shifts if she ever needed it. He clocked out once she was in, and then he was driving. 

The school wasn’t far. Something that he’d made sure of when he was looking for the apartment, and that had turned out surprisingly well. It was a rundown school, but Kakashi met Sasuke’s teacher, and she was sweet and kind, and beggars couldn’t be choosers, anyway.

He walked into the main office, slammed by a tiny human before the door even finished closing. He looked down, keeping the surprise from his face when he saw the light, brown hair and shaking shoulders. It was the first time that Sasuke initiated physical contact with him, which really spoke to the gravity of the situation. 

But before he could ask him what happened, or even get a good look at his face, the vice principal was hovering. Rather annoyingly. 

“We tried to reach you as soon as he started crying, but--” 

“Yeah, thank you. I heard.” He kept his tone in check. Of course, that did beg the question of why someone would think it appropiate to let someone else relay the message, instead of asking to speak directly to him. Gently, he got Sasuke to let go of his legs, and he crouched down to get a better look at him. His cheeks were red and his eyes redder. “What happened?”

“He’s--” 

“Sasuke?”

“Wanna go home.”

“Okay,” Kakashi said, because he wasn’t entirely sure what  _ home _ meant, not for himself, but definietly not for Sasuke. The kid could be talking about the apartment, or his real home, and that was a conversation that was bound to be heartbreaking in any setting, but could be atrocious in the principal’s office. “Okay, it’s okay. We’re going to go.”

“Some new kids have trouble the first few days.”

Kakashi nodded. “Yes, thank you. We’ll try tomorrow.” 

He tried to get Sasuke to grab his hand, but his face was shoved against his legs again, making it just that much more difficult to walk. The principal and secretary, and vice principal, and apparently every single adult in the school was watching him. Holding back a sigh, he picked him up, hoping against all hope that he wouldn’t freak out more, but to his complete surprise, the only thing that Sasuke did was bury his face into his neck. The way he was holding onto him, Kakashi wouldn’t be surprised if he found tiny hand marks on his neck tomorrow. With his free hand, he grabbed Sasuke’s backpack, thanking them again, and walking out of the door. 

He managed to open the car door, and somehow, managed to get Sasuke to let go, so he could strap him into his booster seat. There were about two hours left for his after-school program job, so he figured that they had enough time to drive back to the apartment, every few seconds peaking to check up on Sasuke, but he seemed to be staring out the window the entire ride, quiet sniffles coming from him. 

Once parked, he took him out, letting him hang on to his neck. Wonders sure never ceased. He took the elevator up to their floor, managing to open the door, and walking inside. He went to the kitchen, setting the kid down on the counter, slowly adjusting him to get a better look at him. His eyes were still red and so were his cheeks, but he wasn’t crying anymore. 

Kakashi had never actually learned how to deal with his own emotions, let alone a little kid’s emotions, but he  _ was _ supposed to be the adult. “It’s okay, Sasuke,” he said. Not exactly the best thing to say because nothing was okay. “It’s going to be okay,” he ammended. “Do you want to talk about it?” 

Sasuke sniffled. “Didn’t know anyone.”

“You’ll meet everyone soon. It just needs some time.”

“They’re really loud. And they don’t know how to read. And...and they don’t listen to the teacher.”

Kakashi could only imagine. “Well, if you listen to the teacher, that’s one less kid she needs to worry about, right? You think you can do that?”

Sasuke nodded, expectantly.

“And do you think you could help some of them learn to read?”

It took a second longer, but Sasuke nodded, too.

But the next day, it happened again. The manager told him that he was concerned about it, and Kakashi promised that it wouldn’t happen again, that much. He might have insinuated that the manager was heartless, of course, and it seemed to work, as he retracted some of the words back. But Kakashi heard him mutter something about his reference being stellar under his breath as he walked away. Of course they had been stellar, it had been himself with an annoyingly high-pitched voice, another one with a deep voice, and another one when he pretended to be an old man. He had only great things to say about himself, of course. 

Not completely a con job, but getting there. 

It was necessary, though.

He found Sasuke on the same chair, and he rushed him again, and he took him back home again, apologizing to the adults in the room. Sasuke held him just the same way, but this time, it occured to him that he was holding him just as he usually held Dino. 

So the next day, he sent Sasuke to school with Dino, telling him to take good care of him. Of course, in retrospect, maybe he shouldn’t have said that. Not when they called him again, but this time, the secretary sounded more annoyed than worried. On the way to the school, one of his reference phone rang. The annoying high-pitched one. It took a good five minutes to convince the manager that the initial trouble would be totally worth it, especially with the cute face of his, easily attracting regulars. 

True enough, if he did say so himself. 

And then he walked into the main office, wincing at the shrieking. Sasuke’s shrieking, more specifically. There was a kid, with light hair, that Kakashi recognized from the after-school program, Suigetsu, a kid with a lot of energy, not the best manners, and, what Kakashi was pretty sure was, Dyscalculia. Though he had a busted lip, now. Kakashi’s eyes went to Sasuke then, but he didn’t look hurt. Just had the marks of crying on his face, and...and Dino in half on his lap, his tiny hands clutching the detached head, big tears rolling down his cheeks. 

Okay. Kakashi would just learn how to sew. It was going to be completely, utterly fine. 

Until a woman with golden hair pushed back with sunglasses walked out of the principal’s office, ushering a tall kid with a black eye out of it. 

“Is that your kid?”

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, glancing at where the lady was pointing. Not at Sasuke, though, at Suigetsu. “So what if he is?”

“This is Sasuke’s dad, Mr. Hatake.”

The lady’s eyes went up and down him. Kakashi stared back. “Your kid punched my son.”

His kid had probably broken Dino. There was something rising on his chest, but Kakashi couldn’t stop to identify it because he was too busy keeping a lid on it. “My son wouldn’t punch anyone unless he was provoked.”

“Your kid doesn’t have a black eye, does he?”

“Maybe he just knows how to dodge better,” Kakashi replied. “And he does have his toy broken on his lap.”

“Satoshi broke it!” Suigetsu said.

“I did not--” 

“Yeah, you did! Mr. Kakashi,” he said. “Sasuke was playing by the grass with his dinosaur, and then Satoshi showed up and took it from him.”

“Just to see it!”

“And then Sasuke wanted it back, and Satoshi didn’t give it back--” 

“And then you punched me!”

“Yeah, I did!” Suigetsu crossed his arms. “You’re a snotty kid and you broke his dinosaur, and when I tell my brother, he’s going to kick your butt!”

“Suigetsu, you can’t talk to people that way!”

Kakashi glanced at the principal, but he would have disagreed. Sasuke was definietly not saying that, and someone should because that kid  _ broke _ Sasuke’s dinosaur and he didn’t even know that Suigetsu and Sasuke knew each other and--

“I sure can! And when my mom comes, she’s going to say the same thing!”

“When your mom comes, she’s going to tell you that punching people is bad,” the principal said, just as the sunglasses woman was talking about how she wanted him expelled. 

“No, she won’t,” Suigetsu said, a toothy smile on his face. “She’ll tell me to practice my right hook so I can punch snotty kids better.”

And the funny thing was that Kakashi believed him, only to watch a woman with short, silver hair, walk in a few minutes later, and say just that. Kakashi had seen her behind the wheel of a car older than his own, when Suigetsu’s brother would rush out into the building to pick up him up. Kakashi just had never had the pleasure of hearing the woman. She was loud. 

But Kakashi appreciated it. 

At the end, Suigetsu swore up and down, right and left, that Sasuke hadn’t been in the fight and so, Sasuke wasn’t suspended like Satoshi and him. It was nice of him...nicer than Kakashi would have given him credit. 

And then, Sasuke and he were on his way back home. He was quiet. More quiet than Kakashi had ever heard him, quiet when they stopped at the craft shop, and he bought needle and thread, and quiet when they stopped at the grocery store, for three apples, and a bag of grapes. 

“I’m going to fix him, Sasuke,” he said, once they were inside the apartment, and Sasuke had handed out the head and body to him. How hard could it really be? He knew how to hold a knife, he could probably figure out how to use a needle. “Don’t worry about it, okay? I promise Dino will be fine.”

Sasuke just nodded, before he went to his bedroom. Kakashi hovered over the door for a second, but figured that he could sew Dino before trying to talk to Sasuke again. It took a while, mostly to put the thread through the needle, but by the time he needed to go to work, and make sure that Sasuke was okay to go, Dino was back with his head on. Kakashi grabbed one of his old sweaters, cutting along the sleeves, sewing the pieces together, and putting a scarf on the stuffed animal, to hide the stiches. 

He knocked once on the door, but he didn’t hear Sasuke. Another knock, and deafening silence, and he peeked inside. Sasuke was laying on his back, staring up at the ceiling. “Can I come in?”

Sasuke sat up, nodding, before his eyes got fixed on his lap. Kakashi walked inside, sitting down on the bed and placing Dino on Sasuke’s lap. “I fixed him.”

Sasuke didn’t move, until eventually, he picked him up and gave him a hug. Kakashi breathed easier, then. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. It wasn’t your fault.”

Sasuke glanced up, before looking down at Dino again, pulling his knees up to his chest. He looked tiny. “Am I in trouble?”

“No.” Kakashi shook his head, “why would you be?”

“I’ve never been to the principal’s office like that. Father and mom always said that only naughty kids got sent to the principal’s office.”

_ Oh _ .

“That’s kind of true,” he said, slowly. “A lot of naughty kids do get sent to the principal’s office, but that’s not why you were there. So, it’s okay, you’re not in trouble. It’s okay, Sasuke.”

But Sasuke’s shoulders remained tensed at work, and during dinner, and when he picked him up the next day from Mrs. Tanaka’s house, she told him that he’d been extra quiet that day and maybe he was a little sick. Kakashi promised to take him to the doctor after school, but the only thing he really did was take his temperature. Normal. He took him to school, then. 

But a call never came, and he was able to finish his shift for the first time since he started. And when he picked Sasuke up to take him to his next job, where he babysat a thousand children, Sasuke didn’t utter a word, either. 

Nor the next day.

The next one, was just as quiet.

Kakashi was beginning to consider really, actually taking him to the doctor. A free clinic, anything to help him a little with the small child in his supposed care. 

He leaned against the car, waiting for school to be over, and Sasuke to come over. He waited for a f ew minutes, until he spotted Sasuke, but not...he was a green dinosaur. And actual dinosaur. He looked adorable, actually. 

The green hoodie, with the white spiked on the back, wobbled side to side. Kakashi could see a tail wagging behind. Even more surprisingly, Sasuke ran up to him. Kakashi barely had enough time to catch him. 

“Dad! Look,” Sasuke pointed at himself. “Getsu got it for me. He said that sharks are better than dinosaurs, but that’s not true, but he said that he gave it to me because he saw it in the store with his mommy, and he said that I would like it. It’s real warm.”

Kakashi had never heard him so excited, especially after going days without hearing his voice. “That’s great, kid,” he said. “It’s very nice of them.”

“Yeah. Yeah, it is. I don’t even know why because Getsu never really talked to me, but he showed up today, and he gave it to me since he said that he felt bad that Dino got broken. But I told him that Dino was fine, though,” Sasuke hugged his neck. “But I didn’t have anything to give him. I gave him the grapes and also the cookies that Mrs. Tanaka and I made the other day. He said they were good.”

Who would have thought that getting Sasuke a dinosaur onesie would be the solution to everything? He was talking a thousand miles a minute, and he looked excited, and when they got to the after-school facility, Sasuke found Suigetsu and they ran and ran and ran and Kakashi was tired just looking at them. He went out of his way to thank Mrs. Hozuki personally, and she wasn’t that loud then, and she said that it wasn’t a problem, that Suigetsu had used his own money to buy it for him, and that he was real excited to make a friend. 

Kakashi had no idea how a six-year-old kid had his own money, but he told her that Sasuke was real excited to make a friend, too. 

That night, Kakashi slept the whole night because Sasuke did too. Slept through the night for the first time. Kakashi found him the next morning, still in the onesie, clutching Dino to his chest. Kakashi left the door open, before heading to the kitchen. He didn’t work Saturdays, which...was great. During college, he tried to keep one day free, without school work, or jobs, and he would have taken the day to read something. The third book of  _ Paradise Lost _ was out now, but now he had a kid, and he needed to get breakfast going. 

Sasuke woke up only a few minutes later; Kakashi would have worried that he woke him up, but he knew that he’d been quiet. Sasuke looked rested, though, for the first time, though Kakashi could really only see about half of his face...the half that wasn’t covered by the onesie. 

“How are you?” He asked as he scrambled the eggs. 

“Good,” Sasuke replied. “You?”

“Good, too,” Kakashi said. “You slept okay?”

Sasuke nodded. It made the hoodie move up and down, the white teeth covering Sasuke’s bangs. “Yeah.” He tiptoed to see the oven. “Did you?”

“Yeah,” Kakashi said. He wouldn’t have minded sleeping a little more, of course, but that was just because he was lazy and giving the opportunity, he would waste an entire day in bed. He’d done that plenty of times, it was just that it was a luxury now. “I did. I’m glad you did too, Sasuke. That’s really good.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“What do you say that we go and explore the city a little more today? We haven’t seen much of it.”

Sasuke looked up at him. Kakashi never really conisdered any kid to be  _ cute _ , but Sasuke was adorable. “You don’t work today?”

“Nope. It’s my free day,” he said. “How about you? Have any plans for today?”

Sasuke shook his head. “We can see things. We can walk around.”

Kakashi smiled, “sounds like a good plan to me.”

It was a good plan. Kakashi didn’t even mind that he was walking around a mall with a kid wearing a green dinosaur onesie that at that point, really needed to be washed. He caught some people looking, sending smiles their way, but he only noticed because Kakashi was always paying attention to everything around him, out of a habit he developed earlier, around Sasuke’s age, now that he thought about it, but a habit that was a necessity now. 

Sasuke only stopped walking when they stopped in front of...the store that Suigetsu and his mom must have bought the onesie from. When Sasuke looked at him, Kakashi smiled. 

“Maybe they’ll be a shark one in there, too?”

It didn’t even matter that he was using up money on another kid’s happiness, who objectively wasn’t that great because Kakashi was pretty sure that Suigetsu was the one who was throwing the free lunch into the trash can with the milk opened and unfinished, because Sasuke never stopped smiling all the way up to the register. Kakashi handed the money to him, and Sasuke tiptoed to hand it over to the cashier. 

“You like sharks more than dinosaurs?” She asked.

Sasuke shook his head quickly. “My friend got this for me, and he likes sharks. They’re kind of like water dinosaurs, but not as cool. But dad and me are getting him one since he likes sharks! Especially white ones, that’s why this one is white.”

It was actually white because that’s what the manufacturer decided, but who was stupid enough to argue with a talking dinosaur anyway? The cashier sure didn’t and Kakashi wasn’t going to.

It was a week later that Kakashi found out that Suigetsu also hadn’t taken the onesie off for anything other than to take a shower. 

“Dad!”

Somehow, Kakashi managed to pry one eye open. It was a struggle, but he managed, mostly because Sasuke was nudging his shoulder, rather repetetively. But it just couldn’t be helped. Sasuke had been counting down the days for three months, diligently crossing out each day in the kitchen calendar. Kakashi had secretly been counting down too; it had been years since he’d a dog. It had been months that he’d been going out with Natasha, spending energy that he didn’t actually have, to sort of, well...let Sasuke have a dog. 

It’s not like he didn’t like Natasha, it was just that he was a busy person and whenever he  _ wasn’t _ busy, he liked to sleep, not go out on Saturday night to watch a movie that wasn’t interesting, or eat dinner that could have been cheaper if they stayed home and cooked. It was fine. Natasha was a nice lady and more importantly, she owned the building. Kakashi  _ would _ have never gone out with someone like her--but Sasuke would have been a trust fund kid, too, just like she was, and well, he did like Sasuke. It would be a little hypocritical of him. 

“Wake up. Hey. It’s time to go. The shelter opens in three hours. It takes half an hour to get there, and if we’re not there on time, then there might not be any dogs left!”

Kakashi sat up, running a hand through his hair. He should start brushing it before bed. Ha. “Eh, Sasuke, there’s always going to be dogs, trust me.”

“Well, we sure could use more than one dog,” Sasuke said, doing that funny pout that Kakashi was convinced he had no idea he did. All for the better, Kakashi didn’t need him to figure out exactly how adorable he was. 

“Maybe after we are sure we can take care of one,” he replied, getting out of bed, watching Sasuke get off the bed, too. 

For some wild reason, he recently hit another growth spurt. It was almost like the universe was playing a cruel joke. Those pajamas were only six months old, and they were above his ankles,  _ again _ , it was absolutely insane and expensive. At the rate that Sasuke was going, he would be taller than him in no time and that would actually be quite unfortunate because Kakashi always considered himself a tall person, and what kind of tall person was shorter than his son?

Riddiculous. 

At the rate that Sasuke was growing, Kakashi might take up Jugo’s mom’s offer to accept some clothes--Sasuke wouldn’t mind. He loved Jugo. 

“I made breakfast.” Sasuke nudged him towards the bathroom. “And I took a shower, and dried my hair. That’s why it’s not wet anymore, but it smells good.”

Kakashi took the hint. But he hovered in front of the bathroom door. “You made breakfast? Kid, we’ve talked about this, you can’t use the stove.”

Sasuke looked down. He always looked so downtrodden, but an eight-year-old using a stove was dangerous. “I know. I won’t again. I wore safety gloves.” His voice was always so soft.

“I know you’re really excited about today and I know you want to leave the house quickly, I appreciate the breakfast, okay? But next time, just wake me up earlier.”

“But you always wake up early.”

“I’m an early bird.”

Sasuke looked at him like he knew exactly that Kakashi was the opposite of an early bird. Although, to be fair, Kakashi didn’t consider himself a night owl, either...just a. Mostly, a dead pigeon. It was totally fine. It was Spring Break and although he had piles of paperwork to grade, at the very least, he didn’t have to show up to school and be harrased by a bunch of homonal teenagers and administration. He hated the administration so much, if he could find another job, he would take it in a heartbeat--wouldn’t even think twice about moving them across the country. 

But he didn’t have  _ time _ to look for another job. 

“Birds still need to sleep,” Sasuke pointed out, rather reasonably. “You always wake up early and go to sleep late. I just thought if I made breakfast, then you could rest a little more.”

“I know, Sasuke. I do. I really appreciate it, but it’s not safe.” Nothing ever was safe, of course, but it seemed that it would be incredibly ironic and heartbreaking if something happened to Sasuke inside the house. That would be the cherry on top, and Kakashi didn’t want to be responsible for that. Let alone actually seeing Sasuke hurt. 

“I followed all of Mrs. Tanaka’s rules for the kitchen.”

Kakashi took a deep breath. He knew that reminding Sasuke every day the reason that safety was so important wouldn’t do anyone any good, but he hadn’t exactly come up with a way to ever be able to tell Fugaku Uchiha that his son actually got hurt--seriously hurt, while cooking breakfast. Over the years, Sasuke hadn’t become less adorable or less agreeable, but he had become more vocal when it came to voicing his opinion. He was exceedingly polite and he’d never actually screamed, but it was still something to get used to; Kakashi hadn’t expected him to stay an angel forever and half of him was convinced that it was Suigetsu’s influence, but it still took him a while to get used to it. He was still getting used to it. A learning curve that was not too steep, yet. A learning curve that was by all logic and accounts, thankfully, healthy for any child. “I know. But you’re a kid and it’s still not safe. Don’t do it again, okay? You can wake me up whenever you want and I’ll work on the stove. I’ll follow your directions, promise.”

“Okay,” Sasuke nodded. “I know you’re not a very good cook, but Mrs. Tanaka says that if people are taught something with tons of patience, they can really learn anything. I know she’s right since she taught me how to make Takoyaki.”

He blinked. “She did?”

“Yeah! Can’t make the balls really nice or pretty, but it didn’t taste too bad.” Sasuke shrugged and nudged his leg, in the direction of the bathroom. “Are you going to get ready soon?”

“Yeah. Yeah. Definietly. Don’t do anything unsafe, okay?”

Sasuke sat down on the floor. “I’ll just stay here.”

“You can bubble in the key for the test, if you want.”

“Okay! I think I’ll pick all Bs this time.”

Kakashi chuckled under his breath as Sasuke rushed to the bedside table, for the portfolio. Last month’s exam, Sasuke had filled in a nice pattern of A-B-C-D. The look on the students’ faces was priceless, though he suspected that about half of the classroom hadn’t picked up on the pattern. He doubted many of them would be able to  _ not _ pick up on it, if all the right answers were ‘B’. It would be totally worth it. After making sure that Sasuke was sitting down, bubbling a green scantron, he closed the bathroom door and hurried through the shower, coming out about five minutes later. 

“You’re going to get sick if you leave with your hair wet.”

“I’m drying it, don’t worry about it,” Kakashi said. He wasn’t planning on drying it because he really wasn’t going to get sick--he didn’t get sick. But Sasuke did. And if he saw Kakashi walking out with his hair wet, then Sasuke would never let anyone use a hair dryer again. For some reason, he loathed that thing. 

“Okay. I did two versions. One has the right answers as ‘A’ and the other one as ‘B’,” Sasuke said, looking up from the scantron. “The second to last answer is ‘D’ for both of them!”

Kakashi bit the inside of his cheek. “Sounds like a great idea.”

“It’s kind of mean,” Sasuke said. “But they did throw a spitball at your face, so it’s okay to be a little mean.” He frowned. “I don’t know why Getsu’s brother bullies you so much.”

“It’s not bullying, I’m an adult--” 

“Yeah, it is.” Sasuke shrugged. “Getsu said that his brother told him that you almost cried. If you almost cried, then it’s bullying for sure. It wasn’t very ni--” 

“I wasn’t crying,” Kakashi said. “Or at least not because of that. I always feel like crying when I’m at work, but that’s just because I could be doing so many other things. Like sleeping, mostly.”

“Well, I think it’s still bullying. It wasn’t very nice, he’s not very nice,” Sasuke said, a small frown on his face. 

Kakashi couldn’t help but agree, that kid truly was a demon. He could only hope that Suigetsu didn’t turn out like him and if he did, that he wouldn’t drag Sasuke down with him, too. He rubbed his face as he followed Sasuke out to the kitchen, spotting the eggs he’d made, with sausages, apparently. He had some difficulty swallowing the food, not because it tasted awful--it tasted quite delicious, actually, just like everything else that Sasuke learned from Mrs. Tanaka--but because an eight-year old kid woke up at an ungodly hour to get it done. Generally, Kakashi would get up on time, honestly, and he would at least supervise him because sometimes, Sasuke judge the food that he made and Kakashi wasn’t sure how much of it was an act and how much of it was real, but it was still five in the morning, which meant that Sasuke must have woken up at around 4:30 and that was just something that Kakashi couldn’t manage at the old age of twenty-four. 

He just wasn’t an excitable eight-year old anymore. 

“Do you like it?”

“Of course I do,” he replied, finishing up the last piece of sausage, taking his time to chew as he watched Sasuke  _ stare _ at him, obviously waiting for a chance to drag him out of the house. “Okay,” he said, picking up his and Sasuke’s plate. “I’ll just wash these and then, we can go.”

Sasuke handed him the sponge and dried the plates, and grabbing his hand and placing the keys on them, grabbing an umbrella, and getting them out of the house in three seconds. It was impressive. No wonder all his teachers talked about Sasuke’s laser focus. Kakashi had asked about his ability to multitask, but apparently, Sasuke’s ability to vaccum, study, and help with dinner had not reach the classroom, yet. Kakashi was convinced that he learned it from Mrs. Tanaka because he couldn’t picture Sasuke picking it up from him, and he certainly hadn’t multitask quite like that when he first got him.

“I can’t wait to drive,” Sasuke said, already strapped in. “That way you can take a nap while I drive.”

Did he really look that exhausted? To explain Sasuke’s mild obsession with his sleeping pattern? It’s not like Sasuke slept that much, either, the kid still had nightmares, mild insomnia,  _ and _ was a light sleeper. “Driving isn’t that fun.”

“I know,” Sasuke said. “But I could still do it and you could still sleep.”

“I really do sleep fine.”

“No, you don’t. Mrs. Tanaka says that everyone should sleep eight hours a night and you definietly don’t. Two days ago, you went to bed at two and then you woke up at six, and the day before--” 

“And how do you know that?”

“The bed creaked.”

He chuckled, “maybe I was just moving around.”

“But you never move around when you sleep, you only move when you’re awake.”

“And how do you know that?”

Kakashi couldn’t see, driving and all, but he would have bet all of his five hundred dollars in savings that Sasuke shrugged. “Mr. Hozuki says that it’s important to always pay attention and--well, actually so do you. But I think it’s for different reasons. Anyway, I’m a light sleeper.”

“I know.” Kakashi glanced at the rearview window. “Maybe if you were more active, you could sleep better.”

“I’m going to be! When we get a dog, I’ll run with him.”

“You can’t go out running on your own, you’re eigth.”

“You can come running, too! You know, dogs who don’t excercise every day can die a lot faster than dogs who excercise every day. I read it in the library. Except if it’s a dog with a smushed in face, then we shouldn’t run. Especially in the heat. It doesn’t get too warm, though, but it will. Also, did you know that dogs that are black don’t get adopted? People like blond dogs or white dogs more. It’s kind of sad, actually, because the dog will love you all the same!”

“Maybe we should look for a black dog, then.”

“Yeah!” Sasuke clapped. “It’s because in a lot of places black dogs represent people dying. I never saw a black dog, though. And dogs aren’t bad. Wolves aren’t either! Did you know that we have gone through years thinking of that thing, uh, the...when dogs have one leader, well, not dogs, just wolves. Anyway, it’s not real because of course, they’ll be competing for food if they don’t have enough food. People would do that, too.”

“You mean the alpha theory?”

“Yeah, that one. I read it’s not really real. From the library. Jugo found the book! He said I could read it since he’s reading this other book, uh, it’s a sad book. Bad things keep happening to kids and it made me sad, so I didn’t read it. But Jugo found this book on dogs and he gave it to me. Getsu was outside running still since he doesn’t like to read...I think it’s because people make fun of him that he reads so slow. But he’s pretty smart when I read stuff for him, then he gets it. He says that he’s kind of nervous for his, uh, he says something, but I think he meant his 504 meeting. I told him that those are made to help him. But he says that they are for kids that, uh...it’s a word that I’m not supposed to say.”

“I’m glad you know that you shouldn’t say it,” Kakashi said. He had a faint idea of the word that Suigetsu must have used; though it could as easily be a toss up. That kid had a potty mouth worse than a sailor. “And I’m glad you told him that. 504s are to help students be more comfortable in school.”

“That’s what I told him,” Sasuke said. “I remember since I helped you study for that test. I don’t remember why it’s not an IEP, but anyway. I told him that. He seemed pretty down anyway, though. I told him about too that some kids can lead their meetings and he said that was just extra homework. He doesn’t really like homework, Mrs. Hozuki says that she likes me a lot since I do mine and he has to do his when I’m doing mine, too.” He sighed, “I think he’s just distracted a lot.”

“Maybe it’s not his fault.”

“I don’t think it is,” Sasuke sighed, again. He sounded like the weight of the world was on his shoulders--he usually sounded like that, like he was a fifty-year old man. He sounded like that whenever he wasn’t especially excited about something. “His home is kinda loud. Last time I went over, Mr. Hozuki got into a fight with his mom and then with Getsu’s brother and then, anyway...you picked me up. I think Getsu can’t concentrate there so it’s triple harder.”

Kakashi remembered picking up Sasuke that night, spending two hours asking Sasuke if he was alright and if everyone else was alright. He was almost sure that Sasuke lied in some parts, but not when it came to his own safety and Kakashi just had to live with himself pretending not to know. He didn’t know. The only thing that he did know was that Sasuke wasn’t allowed there anymore and any hanging out was happening under his supervision. 

Not that his supervision was any better, of course. But at least there wasn’t any screaming involved--probably because Sasuke hadn’t given him any reason  _ to _ scream, ever, but still. 

“Are you excited?”

“Of course! What kind of dog do you think it will be?”

“I’m hoping for a puppy,” Kakashi replied. Not the work. He’ll do the work, of course, and he knew that Sasuke would, too, because the kid just had  _ something _ about being helpful that at times was a bit unsettling, though wildly useful. It would just be nice to have Sasuke grow up with a dog, for some much needed companionship. Kakashi had seen him interact with other kids and while he could talk almost as fast as Suigetsu when he was excited and he definietly enjoyed Jugo and Kimi’s company, his report card always said that he was a little quiet and shy.

As a quiet person, Kakashi appreciated silence just as much as Sasuke did, but he knew that if Fugaku ever wanted him back, he would be more impressed with a...more assured and dominant personality. It was sick to think about it, but if Fugaku ever wanted him back, then Sasuke would need to readjust to his a new life, again, and Kakashi needed to give him as many tools as he could to adjust as quickly as possible. That included not being shy.

Or at least knowing when to be shy. 

There was no such thing as a shy CEO and if Sasuke ever became that--well, Kakashi just wouldn’t be able to live with himself knowing that he could have gotten a dog, a puppy, for responsibility and companionship, and self-assurance. There was a reason that dogs were used for therapy, or to calm victims during court cases. 

“A puppy would be cute! I want a bigger dog, so we can run. I want to be faster than Getsu and Kimi. They’re so fast. I’m pretty slow, but if I have a big dog then I’ll learn to run real fast.”

More importantly, if Sasuke ran, then he would be tired, and he would get some decent sleep. “Well, hopefully there’s a big puppy. At least neither of us are allergic.”

“That would be sad. I can’t believe people are actually allergic to animals, that must be really sad. I heard last year, a kid couldn’t go to the animal shelter because she was allergic to cats  _ and _ dogs. I had a lot of fun at the shelter, though. They had rabbits, too! But you can’t run with them, they can only hop and what if a cat eats them?”

“Would be sad.”

“Exactly. With a dog, a cat won’t eat them and we’ll train him not to eat dogs.” 

Kakashi heard a sound that sounded like a slap. When he glanced over, he found Sasuke with his face sticking to the window, his eyes presumably fixed on the giant dog that announced they were close to the shelter. The parking lot was empty, presumably too early for anyone except the employees and maybe some volunteers to be visiting. He parked and grabbed the paperwork from Natasha saying that it was fine if they adopted a dog, regardless of breed, and got out, waiting for Sasuke to get out and taking him by the hand. 

It was a compulsive thing, he figured, although he wasn’t sure if it was Sasuke’s thing or his own. It was just less stressful to feel that Sasuke was there. Physically, there. He grabbed the door, ushering Sasuke inside. 

“Look the bunnies!”

Sasuke clearly wanted to see them, as he dragged him towards the cages. There was a white one and a black one, and a white one with a black one. 

“Mrs. Sato said they were a decade investment. Kind of like dogs. But cats are longer investments, since they last longer. Dogs are more fun, though, but look at that one.” He pointed at a gray one. “It kind of looks like that cartoon that you say I can’t watch.”

“Yeah, he kind of does,” Kakashi agreed. If he was honest, he never truly expected that he’d be the kind of guy to censor a cartoon, but it was a violent and full of inappropiate humor and he still woke up in cold sweat after a nightmare involving Fugaku destroying him  _ and _ , worse of all, destroying Sasuke. “Come on. Do you remember where the dogs are or--” 

“Of course, I do!” Sasuke took him by the hand, dragging him by the receptionist desk and down another hallway. “You know, they have a summer program for kids to help! I gave you the sign-up sheet, right?”

“Yeah, we were going to turn it in to Mrs. Sato, right?”

“Yeah, but we could turn it in right here, too,” Sasuke said. “I’m going to learn how to clean out cages and take care of bunnies and rats and everything else.”

“Sounds exciting,” Kakashi offered. It didn’t really, but Sasuke was obviously excited about it and he wasn’t going to rain on his parade. He’d been so excited after that field trip, had practically shoved the informational flyer into his face. “Oh, look. The dogs.”

Sasuke tiptoed. “They’re tiny. They’re chihuhuas, right? That one looks like a terrier, too. I don’t think they’ll be big.”

Kakashi chuckled, “probably not. Should we keep looking?”

Sasuke nodded and continued down the hallway. There was three huskies in the next room, but they were five already, and Kakashi really wanted a puppy and Sasuke really wanted a black dog. There was probably some psychological reason, but he would rather not think about that. They passed by a dalmation puppy and Kakashi was trying to come up with an argument for that puppy, when Sasuke turned tiptoed to see over another window and practically jumped to the ceiling. It was a puppy with enormous paws, black fur. One of the ears was still down and the information taped to the window said that he was probably three months old. 

“Do you think his littermates already got adopted?”

“Probably,” Kakashi said.

Sasuke turned to look at him, his eyes never looking as big, nor the pout. Well, that was that. Kakashi and he walked to the receptionist desk, asking a nice secretary about the puppy, finding that his littermates had, in fact, being adopted already. Sasuke looked like he was about to burst into tears when he asked if he was the blackest and she said that everyone other dog had been white. 

That was that. 

Kakashi handed over the paperwork from Natasha, waiting five minutes for them to call and confirm. There were some questions, but both Sasuke and he were great at answering questions, and in about two hours, he was handing out the adoption fee that was more like a purchase fee, and packing the car with dog food, a crate, treats and toys. Sasuke picked Urushi for his name and that went on his nametag, and then they were walking out with a dog.

A dog. A sniffing dog that would probably be taller than Sasuke in no time. Apparently, he was a shepherd mix, but when he was bigger, he would more like a lanky wolf than a dog.

Okay. Okay. Okay. 

When he had Pakkun, he was also really nervous the first few days. It was just like having Sasuke again, except worse because accepting Sasuke was out of the blue and didn’t allow for regret time. Not that a dog was anything to regret, of course, he  _ wasn’t _ , but there were still jitters. 

Of course Sasuke  _ giggling _ kind of made up for everything.

\----------------------

In retrospect, Kakashi shouldn’t have been surprised that Sasuke was excellent with Urushi. Not just by obviously been smitten by the puppy, but by setting the alarm at five in the morning each day to walk him for an hour, before they both got ready for the day, and then coming back from the after-school program at six to walk him again for two hours, playing tug of war, and somehow managing to bribe the dog into playing hide and seek with him. Of course, in all of that, about half of the time, Urushi would flop on the floor and take a much needed nap. 

Between him and Sasuke, Urushi was potty trained halfway through the second week and even with the thought playing in his head each day that it would finally be the day that they returned to a destroyed home, there was never anything destroyed. 

It was a little baffling, but Kakashi was feeling a lot better about signing Sasuke up for that summer program at the shelter. He obviously had talent when it came to animals. 

“I can carry him, Sasuke,” Kakashi said, glancing at Sasuke. He could barely see the kid, being hidden away by Urushi. He seemed to be struggling, was definietly lagging behind, but his hands clutched the puppy tighter to his chest. 

“No, I got it. He’s not...that heavy.”

Kakashi would beg to disagree. “He...seems heavy for you.”

“It’s okay, he’s just tired.”

Kakashi nodded. “Do you need help?”

“No, I got it.”

But clearly, Sasuke didn’t  _ got it _ , judging by the fact that he stopped, clearly taking a deep breath. Somehow managing to wipe sweat off his forehead. 

“I think it would be better if I carry him, Sasuke.”

A moment passed and then Sasuke nodded. Kakashi took Urushi, a little surprised that the puppy didn’t even stir. Until they were two blocks away from home and then suddenly, the dog definietly wanted to walk--not just walk, but clearly wanted Sasuke to be holding the leash, judging by the bites to the leash until Kakashi let go and Sasuke held it. He couldn’t blame him, if he were a dog, he would prefer that a cute kid held the leash instead of a weird twenty-four year old. 

He handed the leash over, smiling down at Sasuke as Urushi smelled a lamp post.

“Did you know dogs can smell a lot better than us? They don’t see really well, but they can smell real good.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You know,” Sasuke said, pulling on his sweater. “I know doggies have jobs like search and rescue and can smell drugs, but how come they’re seeing dogs, too? They can’t see really well.”

“I...they can see better than people who need them, I guess.”

“And they’re really nice, maybe. Probably even if a cat could see better and be a guide dog, they wouldn’t like that.”

Kakashi chuckled under his breath. “You think cats are mean?”

He shook his head. “No, but they get distracted and they like to hunt mice. What if they guided a person into a rat-infested hole? The person would freak out a lot.”

“You’re probably right,” Kakashi said because he wasn’t entirely sure what to say that. Though most of the times, Sasuke acted years beyond his age, he was still a little kid and a lot of times, it was like talking with a drunk, sleep deprived college boy. 

Sasuke just had weird ideas.

It was probably Suigetsu’s influence, honestly.


End file.
